Editing Nausicaa (section)

==Role in the ''Odyssey''==
[[File:Nausicaa and her Maidens brought to Odysseus food and wine.gif|thumb|left|[[W. Heath Robinson]]: ''Nausicaa and Her Maidens Brought Him Food and Wine'' (date unknown)|276x276px]]

In Book Six of the ''Odyssey'', [[Odysseus]] is shipwrecked on the coast of the island of [[Scheria]] (Phaeacia in some translations). Nausicaä and her handmaidens go to the seashore to wash clothes. Awakened by their games, Odysseus emerges from the forest completely naked, scaring the servants away, and begs Nausicaä for aid. Affected by the unfortunate hero, she gives Odysseus some clothes and takes him to the edge of the town. Keeping him secret, she goes ahead into town, telling him to go directly to Alcinous's house and make his case to Nausicaä's mother Queen Arete, the family's matriarch. Odysseus approaches Arete and wins her approval, and he is received as a guest by King Alcinous.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Mythology (book)|Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes]] |last=Hamilton |first=Edith |author-link=Edith Hamilton |year=1999 |orig-year=1942 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing Hachette Book Group USA |location=New York }}</ref>

During his stay, Odysseus recounts his adventures to Alcinous and his court, a [[frame story]] for a substantial portion of the ''Odyssey''. Alcinous then generously provides Odysseus with the ships that finally bring him home to [[Homer's Ithaca|Ithaca]].

Nausicaä is young and beautiful; Odysseus says she resembles the goddess [[Artemis]]. She has several brothers. According to [[Aristotle]] and [[Dictys of Crete]], she later married Odysseus's son [[Telemachus]], and had one or two sons, [[Poliporthes]] or/and [[Persepolis (mythology)|Persepolis]]. 

Homer gives a literary account of a love which is never expressed (one of the earliest examples of [[unrequited love]] in literature). Nausicaä is presented as a potential love interest for Odysseus: she tells her friend that she would like her husband to be like him, and her father tells Odysseus that he would let him marry her. The two do not have a romantic relationship, however, and she marries Telemachus in some versions. Nausicaä is also a mother figure for Odysseus; she ensures his return home, and says "Never forget me, for I gave you life". Odysseus never tells [[Penelope]] about his encounter with Nausicaä, out of all the women he met on his long journey home. Some suggest this indicates a deeper feeling for the young woman. According to some versions, the father of one of Nausicaa's sons was Odysseus himself rather than his son Telemachus.<ref>Powell, Barry B. ''Classical Myth''. Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998, p. 581.</ref>